Grande Traversée du Massif Central: from Cantal to Aubrac

5 to 6 hours of walking per day on good tracks and paths, with some pasture crossings but no particular technical difficulties. As Aubrac is a summer grazing area, take care around herds and barbed-wire fences.

Luggage transfers are included. You only carry what you need for the day in a small backpack or bag, along with your picnic lunch and snacks for the walk. Your luggage will be waiting for you at the hotel in the evening.
You also have the option of carrying your luggage during the walk.

From 2 people.

7 days, 6 nights, 6 days of walking.

From 1 May to 15 October. Departures are not possible on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.

We provide a detailed route map and step-by-step directions. Depending on the arrangements, you will receive your pack before departure or collect it at your first accommodation.

Accommodation

Small hotels rated 1* or 2**, walkers' lodges and guesthouses, with one compulsory night in a mountain lodge at Les Rajas (fully renovated in 2011), and accommodation in a room or dormitory at St Germain du Teil, depending on availability.

For the stage and overnight stay at the Rajas refuge: bring a sleeping bag (with hollow-fibre filling, lightweight and compressible) or a cotton, silk or fleece sleeping bag liner (blankets are provided in overnight lodges and refuges), and a towel (sheets and towels are not provided in refuges).

Hotel ratings

In France, an increasing number of hotels and bed and breakfasts choose not to have an official rating, including establishments that were still rated a year or two ago. This does not mean their quality has declined—far from it. Many bed and breakfasts offer charming rooms.
If we indicate, for example, a comfort level of “3* or equivalent”: this means that the establishment does not necessarily have an official rating, but offers a level of comfort comparable to a 3* hotel.

Meals

The stay is on a half-board basis, with accommodation in rooms with bed linen provided (subject to availability). Dinners and breakfasts are served at your accommodation.

Please let us know about any food allergies or special dietary requirements when booking; we will do our best to adapt your meals.

Start

On Day 1 at your accommodation in St Flour in the late afternoon.

Finish

On Day 7 in the afternoon, after the walk, at Banassac-La Canourgue railway station.

Additional nights on a half-board basis are available in St Flour or La Canourgue.

By train

Getting to Saint-Flour SNCF railway station: on the Paris - Clermont-Fd - Béziers line. The station is in the lower town, a 20-minute walk from the upper town.

Return from Banassac - La Canourgue SNCF railway station: on the Paris - Clermont-Fd - Béziers line.

Check timetables with SNCF by calling 3635 or visiting https://www.sncf-connect.com/

By car

Saint-Flour is in the Cantal region, on the A.75 motorway between Paris - Clermont-Fd - Béziers, 100km south of Clermont-Ferrand. The motorway is toll-free between Clermont-Fd and Béziers, except for the Millau Viaduct.

To plan your route: Via Michelin

Parking your car

In Saint-Flour, you can park in the town’s car parks or nearby streets.

Returning to your car

To return to your car, you can take the train from Banassac-La Canourgue to Saint Flour.

A number of our trips offer opportunities to swim, during a stage or at the end of the day. It would be a shame to miss out. However, we emphasise that you alone must decide whether swimming is appropriate; you therefore swim under your own responsibility and at your own risk.

Member of Agir pour un Tourisme Responsable (ATR)

Since 2012, Grand Angle has been a member of ATR, the leading association for more responsible tourism. We design our trips—on foot, by bike and on snow—to invite everyone to discover the world differently: with curiosity, respect and kindness.

As a member of the board of directors since 2018, we actively help the sector move towards more meaningful practices. In practical terms, we make sure to:

• Transparency in our practices and prices
• Respect for our partners and local communities
• Protecting the environment on every trip

We also share the values of the Traveller’s Ethical Charter, which encourages everyone to take simple steps to protect the places they visit and foster meaningful encounters.

Travelife Partner

Since 2025, Grand Angle has been recognised as a Travelife Partner, an international label that certifies our responsible practices in environmental protection, ethics and sustainable management, both within our company and in our work with partners and the organisation of our trips.

This label, the second level of a rigorous international certification scheme, recognises our practical efforts to promote responsible tourism. We are actively working towards the next level, Travelife Certified, in line with our sustainable development policy

In this section, you will find links to products from our partner Alpinstore, a French online retailer specialising in outdoor equipment, based in Annecy.

To carry your belongings

• A comfortable 30 to 50 L backpack with a hip belt to carry your personal belongings and picnic lunch during the day
• A bag for luggage transfers: a backpack, a travel bag in good condition, or a suitcase that is not too bulky. One bag per person, with a 15 kg weight limit

Find out how to pack your hiking backpack properly in our magazine.

For hiking

For maximum comfort, choose a layered clothing system: warm base layers (leggings + top) such as “Carline” or “Capilene” (hollow fibres that wick away perspiration) + a sweatshirt or fleece jacket + a mountain jacket and overtrousers with a waterproof, breathable membrane (such as Gore-Tex or equivalent) for bad weather. As a general rule, except in hot climates and countries, avoid cotton, which traps moisture close to the body (and takes a long time to dry), and choose suitable synthetic fabrics instead.

• Hiking boots with ankle support, a good deep-tread sole, a supportive heel counter and good waterproofing
• Comfortable hiking socks (at least 3 pairs)
• A fleece
• Comfortable walking trousers (quick-drying technical fabric)
• Comfortable technical shorts
• Technical T-shirts or base layers (quick-drying fabric)
• A long-sleeved shirt
• Walking poles (telescopic), very important for making walking easier. Discover all the benefits of hiking poles in our dedicated article or how to choose your hiking poles

Note: synthetic technical clothing performs very well. New merino wool clothing is also available; it performs very well, is comfortable to wear, and has the added benefit of resisting perspiration odours!

For your lunchtime picnic

• Your meal kit: a plastic bowl, container or plate, and cutlery (spoon, fork, knife)
• 1 or 2 water bottles (a total capacity of at least 1,5 L) – essential –; an insulated bottle for winter

Protection from sun and rain

• Sunscreen (high protection)
• Sunglasses
• A hat, cap or bucket hat
• A rain poncho or a waterproof jacket, such as a softshell or Gore-Tex jacket, and possibly waterproof trousers

After your walk

• A pair of trainers for the evening
• A change of clothes and underwear
• A small toiletry bag and towel
• Swimwear and a towel for wellness facilities (where specified) or swimming
• A small first-aid kit: personal medication, surgical masks, hand sanitiser, plasters, sterile dressings and a bandage, gauze, antiseptic, arnica pellets, aspirin, etc. (Please note that this list is not exhaustive and should be adapted to your own medical needs.)

You can find these tips in our article #"What to take with you on a hike".

This list is for guidance and should be adapted to your trip and the season in which you are travelling.

France

Travellers, including minors, must carry a national identity card or passport (EU nationals).

Saint-Flour Tourist Office
17 bis Place d’Armes
15100 Saint-Flour
Telephone: 0471602250

La Carnourgue Tourist Office
18 rue de la ville
48500 La Carnourgue
Telephone: 0466328367

There may be no mobile coverage along some sections of your hike.

The climate is fairly harsh, as is typical of mountain areas. Snow covers the plateau for several months of the year. But as soon as spring arrives, nature bursts into life! In summer, the altitude keeps temperatures pleasantly mild.

The euro.

• Guide vert, Gorges du Tarn, Cévennes, Bas-Languedoc, published by Michelin
• Guide de la Lozère, published by La Manufacture
• Un été sur la montagne, Nasbinals public school
• Flore d’Aubrac, F. Nouyrigat, published by Éditions du Rouergue
• Paroles de burons, Yves Garric, published by Fil d’Ariane, Rodez
• Une France Sauvage, L’Aubrac, Renaud Dengreville and Colette Gouvion, published by Éditions du Rouergue

Environment

Aubrac, a mid-altitude mountain range
Situated where two regions and three departments meet, far from centres of decision-making, Aubrac is first and foremost a mid-altitude mountain range, bounded by the Lot and Truyère rivers in the southern Massif Central. It is a “land of high ground”, whose heart bears traces of the volcanic activity that formed its vast plateaus. People have gradually tamed these plateaus by clearing them to create a “land of grass”, a resource that today underpins the local economy and supports exceptional biodiversity.

In terms of vegetation, Aubrac has a varied landscape: a large beech forest in the southwest, small coniferous forests in the north and east, and extensive pastures with few trees in the centre. Thanks to the wide variety of these habitats and their relatively good state of preservation, the flora is very diverse: martagon lilies, large-flowered calamint (the famous “Aubrac tea”), sundews (carnivorous plants), cranberries, marsh gentians… There are no nature reserves, although several sites, particularly wetlands, would deserve such protection. The proposed Aubrac Regional Nature Park may help move things towards better environmental protection. For now, only Natura 2000 sites exist. The site in the Aveyron part of Aubrac covers the Aubrac state forest, which is one of France’s finest high-altitude beech forests.

Hikes usually take place in sensitive natural areas, so all activities must respect the environment: respecting natural heritage, cultural heritage and local residents, respecting natural resources (water, soil, habitats, wildlife, plants and climate), and tackling pollution and all environmental impacts. Do not disturb animals in their own habitat, and do not pick flowers, as they will not grow back!